The Presidents
of the United States of America – The Presidents of the United States of
America
(Pop
Llama/Columbia, 1995)
Buy the album
here
Opinion:
The Presidents of the United States of America officially disbanded in November
2016 shortly after the presidential election because they could no longer
associate themselves with the person who would share their title.
In
their tumultuous existence, stretching over more than 20 years, The Presidents
tried to spread the opposite of whatever the sitting U.S. President is made of:
joy. Infused in every song was abstract
silliness, love, and a sense of fun that found expression in the hookiest
hooks, chilled California sounds, fuzzy Seattle sounds, off-key screams, bouncing riffs, and
inspirationally nonsensical lyrics. Most
widely known for this album’s hits (and my favourite karaoke songs) “Peaches”
and “Lump”, The Presidents… is more
interesting and touching than either of these songs suggest. While they are all rock songs
with simple rock song structures and simple rock song sounds, each is given a
sense of personal experience and tender care that creates a connection with the
listener rare among such outwardly silly bands.
No other band can make me sing along with complete and earnest
dedication to seemingly meaningless lyrics:
Ten million monkeys all pick up guitars,
Nobody taught them how
Five thousand fishies rockin' really,
really, really hard
Nobody taught them how
Check-out chicken drivin' Vinny's little
blue car
Nobody taught them how!
And
while it all seems like pointless fun, The Presidents… are also connected to
reality. For one, they have consciously
taken part in the world’s largest ongoing jam by covering “Kick out the Jams”
by MC5, and have written songs about their lack of talent/hope and the lure of
fame in the California sunshine. “We Are
Not Going to Make It” is the most direct rocker of a song on the album. A big hooky bass line leads us straight into
a ripping chorus sung on the edge of their screeching capability, and with
lyrics like, “… there's a million better bands / with a million better songs”
you have to admire the honesty of the band’s debut. The false start at the beginning of the song
coupled with its unproduced garage rock sound makes it nearly impossible not to
love them. “Naked and Famous” is a much
more considered track overall, and its patience and humour make it a
soul-cuddling conclusion to the record.
Its picked verse sections are endearing while the plodding pre-chorus
and chorus are a wonderful set-up for a fuzzed-out, solo-filled, “woo hoo”-tinged
bridge section where The Presidents… let loose again. The quiet contemplation of nude fame becomes
an outright celebration of the human desire to be naked and famous at all.
While
“Stranger”, with its wistful verses and bombastic chorus, brilliantly touches
on the clumsiness of instant human attraction, especially in awkward circumstances,
the band otherwise seem preoccupied with animals and what our relationships
with them might tell us about ourselves.
The album cover imagines what The Presidents might look like as little
brass animals, and songs like “Kitty”, “Boll Weevil”, and “Body” are dedicated
to the peculiarity and appeal of different animals. “Body” appears to be the childhood memories
of amphibians and lizards that have died in various ways, the images of their
dead bodies having left indelible images in the child’s mind. Its seductive verse sounds create an alluring atmosphere that becomes brilliantly weird the first time
you realise what they’re singing about.
The pounding closing to the song, with the refrain “I can’t get your
body out of my mind”, is an album highlight.
“Boll Weevil” seems to be about a lazy friend with physical
characteristics of a boll weevil, mostly his bug butt, and is an ode to the
glory of being outside in the sunshine.
While they may not convince Boll Weevil to move, the infectious energy
of the track has me wishing hard that I had some sunshine to go out chasing
right now. Album opener “Kitty” uses cat
sounds, cat behaviour, and the simultaneous appeal and nuisance of cats to introduce
the listener to the animal-themed madness coming their way. It’s a welcoming, infectious, and funny start
to an album that will leave you feeling like you love everyone and everything.
And
that’s why this album is on this list.
As the rest of the albums that I’ve written about might give away, I don’t
find myself drawn to much “happy” music, but this album taught me to dance,
shriek, and even sway with closed eyes to all these fun sounds
and ideas. The wonder of an unstoppably
infectious track like ”Feather Plukn” is what this music is all about. It’s silly, cute, and nonsensical but it’s sung
with complete and forthright joy. Even
though the song marvels at the talents of animals, I feel like the band are
cheering me on, celebrating all the amazing little things I can do – even though
some of the animals seem more talented than me. This spirit of celebratory joy is what made “Lump”
and “Peaches” such big hits for the band.
And while I take those songs for granted somewhat, they brought thousands
of people together in celebration of being alive, animals or not. The best way I can describe the impact of this
band is to recount seeing them live in London years ago. The Presidents… were playing the entirety of
this album start to finish, and though I’m not a naturally social animal,
within seconds of the set starting I was wrapped around the stranger next to
me, jumping in unison, singing or screaming every word together, and having the
most fun imaginable. In between every
song we smiled at each other, and at the end of the gig we wished each other
the happiest lives. If you were to tell me that story I might boke, but in all honesty, it is one of the purest,
happiest, and most enjoyable nights of my life.
